The Princess in Black by Shannon Hale
2014; Johns Hopkins University Press; Volume: 68; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/bcc.2014.0942
ISSN1558-6766
Autores Tópico(s)Literary Theory and Cultural Hermeneutics
ResumoReviewed by: The Princess in Black by Shannon Hale Kate Quealy-Gainer Hale, Shannon The Princess in Black; by Shannon and Dean Hale and illus. by LeUyen Pham. Candlewick, 2014 89p ISBN 978-0-7636-6510-4 $14.99 R Gr. 2-4 Decked out in a her sparkly tiara and frilly pink dress, Princess Magnolia is having hot chocolate and scones with the ever-proper and ever-prying Duchess Wigtower [End Page 155] when the princess’s glitter stone ring rings, alerting her to a nearby monster attack. Quickly excusing herself, Princess Magnolia heads to the broom closet, where she transforms into a black-clad, masked hero. With the help of her trusty steed Blacky (alias Frimplepants the unicorn), the Princess in Black manages to wrangle the offending monster with some seriously impressive moves (Sparkle Slam! Twinkle Twinkle Little Smash!) and get back to the castle before the snooping Duchess finds any evidence of Magnolia’s secret life. Meanwhile, Duff the Goat Boy (whose goats the PIB was protecting) realizes that Princess Magnolia and the Princess in Black may be one and the same—and that he’d like to join her in her monster-fighting ways. The Hales translate the humor and adventure that characterize their Rapunzel’s Revenge (BCCB 9/08) into prose form for a younger audience with aplomb and wit, giving amusing nods to both the Disney princess tradition and the superhero genre. Short sentences, a simple vocabulary with the occasional challenge, a manageable length, and a near picture-book level of illustrative density give this chapter book immense accessibility. Pham’s watercolor and ink art has a goofy cartoonishness, with the Princess’s doe-eyed damsel figure contrasting entertainingly with her ninja-like moves, and the monsters themselves are a parade of wacky Muppet-like creatures. Whether they prefer pink sparkles or superhero capes, readers, especially newly independent ones, will find themselves anxiously awaiting the next installment of the PIB’s adventure. Copyright © 2014 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
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